New Practice Squad Players

Wide Receiver Willie Snead – Draft Profile

Prepped in Michigan, where he played for his father and was The AP’s Division 5-6 Player of the Year as a dual-threat quarterback. As a true freshman in 2011, started 4-of-11 games and had 28 catches for 327 yards (11.7-yard average) and two touchdowns. Started 12-of-13 games in ’12 and piled up 89-1148-9 (12.9). Started all 13 games in ’13, producing 106-1,516-15 (14.3).

STRENGTHS: Controlled mover with nice balance. Gets in and out of breaks cleanly. Runs crisp routes — shows some savvy and subtle physicality to work himself open. Tracks and adjusts very well. Has soft, sure hands and catches naturally. Good concentration to make contested catches. Confident and competitive. Excellent two-year production.

WEAKNESSES: Lacks ideal height. Fairly monotone — does not have explosive speed to separate vertically. Too many catches are contested. Lacks wiggle to elude tacklers and create after the catch. Did not face top-notch competition.

DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 6-7

BOTTOM LINE: Productive, dependable, fairly polished possession receiver with natural receiving skills. Lacks ideal size and horsepower to thrive outside, but his sure hands give him a chance to compete for a role as a chain-moving, short-to-intermediate slot receiver.-Nolan Nawrocki

From his Wikipedia page: Willie Snead IV went undrafted in 2014 but he quickly signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cleveland Browns.Snead gave a strong showing during the Browns training camp and secured playing time in the preseason games. In the Browns second preseason game vs the Washington Redskins Snead pulled down two passes from Johnny Manziel. Both were called back due to penalties called on other players. His first ture reception came on a 15 yard pass from Connor Shaw. Snead fished the game with 3 receptions for 29 yards. At the end of the game Snead also tipped a Hail Mary pass into the hands of TE Emmanuel Ogbuehi. Snead made the final round of cuts with the Browns before being released. After an unsuccessful tryout with the New York Giants, Snead signed with the Carolina Panthers practice squad on 23 Sep, 2014.Snead became a member of the New Orleans Saints’s practice squad on 11 Dec, 2014.

FB Toben Opurum

May 17, 2013 Team adds the former Kansas Jayhawks FB to its roster The Kansas City Chiefs added a fullback to its roster, signing college free agent Toben Opurum, the team announced on Friday.

Opurum (6-1, 250) played defensive end and linebacker at the University of Kansas where he recorded 109 tackles (59 solo), 6.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and seven passes defensed.

Opurum played running back for the Jayhawks in 2009, rushing 133 times for 554 yards and nine touchdowns. He also served on the school’s special teams unit. The Richardson, Texas native prepped at Plano East High School in Plano, Texas.

Kansas City ChiefsOpurum went undrafted and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs. He played fullback during the Chiefs 2013 preseason, but was released during the Chiefs final cuts. He was then signed to the Chiefs practice squad. He was cut and re-signed to the practice squad several times during the 2013 season.

Houston TexansOn December 24, 2013, Opurum was signed by the Houston Texans of the Chiefs practice squad. Opurum was released during the final round of cuts of the 2014 preseason, but was signed to the practice squad after clearing waivers. He was released on October 7, 2014.

CBS Draft Page:

04/08/2013 – Toben “Tobenuchukwu” Opurum, DE (6-1 3/8, 249) – Opurum ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds with the wind and 4.69 seconds against the wind. He had a 34 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-4 broad jump. He did the short shuttle in 4.40 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.28 seconds. He also had 24 lifts on the bench. Opurum worked out at both outside linebacker and fullback at Kansas’ pro day, and is a possible rookie free-agent pickup following the 2013 NFL Draft. – Gil Brandt, NFL.com

09/16/2012 – DE Toben Opurum came from behind and stripped Casey Pachall just before he reached the goal line. The fourth-quarter fumble by the TCU quarterback resulted in a safety. Opurum also recovered a fumble and was in on six tackles.

08/01/2012 – 2012 PRESEASON TED HENDRICKS AWARD WATCH LIST: TOBEN OPURUM, KANSAS, has been selected a preseason candidate for the 2012 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. On-field performance, exceptional winning attitude, leadership abilities, contributions to school and community and academic preparedness are some of the criteria used to determine the Award’s winner. Opurum, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound senior from Richardson, Texas, finished the 2011 season 45 tackles, including 10.5 behind the line of scrimmage and four sacks. He 10.5 tackles for a loss led KU and ranked 10th in the Big 12, while his four sacks ranked 17th in the conference. The senior also chipped in seven quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a forced fumble. Opurum was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention by the conference’s coaches. – Kansas football

07/25/2012 – Kansas coach Charlie Weis will release an official depth chart next week, but there are already some minor position changes. Weis is mum on most specifics, but he seems set on one offensive plan. It appears all but certain that senior linebacker/defensive lineman Toben Opurum will be utilized as a running back in short-yardage, goal-line situations. Opurum began his career as a running back before moving to defense under former coach Turner Gill. Weis, in fact, recruited Opurum to Notre Dame as a running back. – Rustin Dodd, The Kansas City Star

07/09/2012 – Top-five Kansas prospects for the 2013 NFL Draft: 2. DE Toben Opurum (6-2, 245)…One of the more interesting stories in college football belongs to one of the more interesting prospects for next April’s Draft. Opurum started his collegiate career as a running back, leading the team in rushing as a freshman, before moving to the defensive side of the ball two years ago. He is coming off his best season on defense, leading the Jayhawks in sacks (4.0) and tackles for loss (10.5) in 2011 as a junior hybrid defensive end. However, along with the rest of the defense, Opurum will play under his fourth defensive coordinator in the past four years in 2012, creating more questions than answers for his responsibilities as a senior. He will also play for his third head coach in the past four years, but the Plano-native was recruited hard by Coach Weis out of high school and considered the Irish one of his finalists before committing to the Jayhawks because of the lure of immediate playing time. Opurum started three games at running back as a true freshman, finishing with a team-best 554 yards and nine scores on the ground. Under new head coach Turner Gill in 2010, Opurum was moved to the defensive side of the ball, a move that forced him to consider transferring elsewhere to remain at running back, but he decided to stay in Lawrence and bulk up for his new pass rusher position. He started 18 games the past two seasons in a defensive end/linebacker role, setting career-bests last season with 45 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. A senior captain, Opurum plays fast off the snap and it wouldn’t be surprising to see among the conference leaders in sacks in 2012. – Dane Brugler, NFLDraftScout.com